Method and apparatus for suppressing steam and dust rising from coke being quenched



y 22, 1952 M. l. DORFAN 2,604,187

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPRESSING STEAM AND DUST RISING FROM COKE BEING QUENCHED Filed June 8, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 P 5; 4 INVENTOR.

July 22, 1952 M, DORFAN 2,604,187

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPRESSING STEAM AND DUST RISING FROM COKE BEING QUENCHED Filed June 8, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

23 Moan-2M Doe/ 0! BY 2 flaw, w $1 ,arr-peaeys l. DORFAN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPRESSING STEAM J ly 22, 1952 2,604,187

AND DUST RISING FROM COKE BEING QUENCHED 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 8, 1951 M am mv m 5 m m 5 N W. P 4 f A 2 7 //////////v/////// w, M w, 924 054A Patented July 22, 1952 2,604,187, Y METHOD AND APPARATUs'FOR SUPBRESS ING STEAM ;AND DUST RISING FROM. V QF G EN H D f I I -M rton I. Dor fan, Pittsburgh,' Pa. Q s

Application Jimes,1951,' seria1 o."2e0,59'z- 7 12 claims.

This invention relates to the quenching of hot coke immediately after it leavesa coke oven, and

more particularly to the control and dispositionof the steam and dust produced while the coke:

is being quenched. 4

In the process of making coke, the red-hot coke is pushed from by-product coke o'vens into' cars which then are moved through the lower partof quenching towers. While the 'cars are in the towers the coke is floodedwith water to quench it. A great quantity of water is' used for this purpose, with the result that a great amount of steam rises from the coke and carries withit-coke dust. The steam'contains, among other things, poisonous phenols which pollute the atmosphere, and the water vaporformin'g= the steam has beenlost. Up to the present the coke dust produced during quenching'not only has been lost, but it also has cread a great nuisance in the community. It is among the objects of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for treating the dust and steam rising from coke bein'g'quench'ed which confines them to the quenching-tower,

water that formed the steam; which keeps the dust and phenols in the steam from polluting the atmosphere, which uses coke as a filtering medium,v which salvages the filtering medium,

and which is simple in construction and operation.

In accordance with this invention my steam and dust suppressing apparatus isassociated with a coke quenching tower, through the lower por' tion'of which cars of hot coketravel so that the coke therein can be cooled by water. The

apparatus includes an exhaust fan for drawing 1 the steam and dust up into the tower, and a chute extending. from the top of'the tower down to a point above the level of the coke cars Filtering coke is delivered to the upper end of the chute to keep it full, and means isprovided for controlling release of the coke from'the lower end of the chute. The chute has perforated side walls and a plurality of longitudinally spaced Provision is made .in, the tower ,fbr directing the upward flow ,of steam and dust transversely through each of the chute section's" sections.

in succession, whereby. the flow passes back and thereby servesto' filter out the dust. To. condense the steam in the tower, water. is sprayedthrough which salvages the dust and a large part of the forth through the coke in the chute, whichii a perforated'side wall of one of thechutesec= tions onto the coke in that seeti-on.,, The stearn entering the section of wetcoke is condensed therein. The spray water and condensed steam that run out of theside of the chute may be collected'in a drain pan and returned to a sump for re-use; Coke in the chute is periodically or continuously released from the lower end of the chute onto the quenched coke in the car below it, whereby the filtering medium' is continually being renewed and none of it is lost. Preferably,- two chutes are used and extend diagonally downthrough the tower. I

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a plan View of a quenchin'gtower incorporating my invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of the tower with parts "broken away; Fig. 3

is an end view withmost of the tower end wall removed and parts 'of the suppressing apparatus shown in 'sectio'ni" and Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail of one of the supports-for the chute side walls. Y

Rerenun to the drawings, a conventional masonry coke quenching tower l is shown for the purpose of illustration. The tower has end walls Tithe lower portions of which are open to provide ports '3throug'h which cars 4 of hot coke can travel on rails 5. Thetower is long enough. to accommodate at least one car, and'the top of the tower is open. In thelowerpart of the tower above the level of the car ports are the usual pipes 6 for spraying coke in the cars with water, to quench it. While the coke is being quenched, a greatdeal of steamis produced, and the steam carries dust and poisonous phenols up through the tower. Heretofore, the dust and steam have left the top of the tower and spread out overthe surrounding territory, thereby ore-- ating a great nuisance and a considerable amount of dama'ge as well as loss of the dust and the water that produced, the steam. It is a feature of this invention that such dust and steam are suppressed within the tower before they can leave it.;' s 7 Accordingly, apparatus is associated with the .tower for'condensing the steam and for filtering out the coke'dust. Starting at the top, the apparatu's includes motor driven blowers or exhaust fans 1. mounted on top of the tower with their inlets connected by'large'elbows 8 to the tops of exhausthoods 9 closing the upperpartof the tower. These fans draw a strong current of air in through the car ports 3 and up through the tower The rising current of air carries the steam and cokei,dust upward with it. HoWever,-' thefldust and steam do not reach the fans to be 5 discharged into the atmosphere, because the steam is condensed and the dust is filtered out of the air before they reach the top ofthe tower. For this purpose a filtering bed or curtain of filtering coke is conducted down through the tower in such a way that the rising dust and steam have to pass back and forth through it. The filtering coke may be coke of any size suitable for use as a filter medium, suitable examples i g k 3/8 x 5/8 l/ lr x 1!: or 11/2 x 21/2 The filtering coke flows down through perforated conduit means, preferably in the form of two independent chutes extendi'ngthe full length of the tower. Asshown in Fig. 3,. each chuteextendsdiagonally back and forth down between'.

the opposite sides of the tower from a point near the top of a side wall to a point at the center of the tower a short distance abovethelevel of the car ports. Thus, the chute has a plurality of inclined sections. Three of these longitudinally spaced sections for each chute are generally considered to be enough, but moregsections can be usedif desired. The sections 'of-onechute are like valve I1 that .extends'lengthwise' of the :tower andispivotally supported' at its opposite ends; One trunnion I8 (Fig. 2)-'of the'valvemay extend through an end wallof the tower and .be provideo withasuitable lever IQ for turning it in order to swing the valve to either side;

Communicating with the top of each chute is-- a pair of upwardly tapered equalizing chutes 21, the upper ends of which are connected to the outlets of a pair of vertical elevating con= veyors 22 of any'suitable construction mounted outside ofthe tower. conveyor is housed in a bin 23, to which filteringcoke can besuppliedin any suitable manner. The coke is lifted from the bins by the conveyors and delivered tothe upper ends of. the

chutes at a rate sufficient to maintain the chutes substantially filled with coke '24. Consequently, the space inside thetower is crossed at three difierent levels by curtainsof filtering material.

The opposite side walls-of each chute are perforated to permit the air and steam and dust tofiow transversely through the three pairs of inclined chute sections and thefiltering coke insideof them. Tokeep the filtering coke from falling through the perforationseach. chute side wall preferably is formed from a. plurality of" metal plates 26 which extend' lengthwise of. the

tower. The plates forming each side wall are.

disposed in laterally spaced overlapping. relation, with the upper part of each plate at. the outside of the. lower part of the plate, above it- Therefore, the slots that are formed between the plates have lower ends inside the chute, so that filtering coke can not fallout of .the slots. Pref erably, each plate is in, the-form of a flattened Z, with the upper. portions of each. opposed pair of platesof a chute substantially parallel f and connected by downwardly converging portions to substantially parallel. lower portions disposed The lower ends of these The lower end ofi eachdust. also is removed in passingthrough the wetbetween theupper portions of the next lower pair of plates. The two side walls of each chute diverge gradually from top to bottom of the chute to accommodate the increase in volume of coke in the chute as it moves downward, due to the added coke dust picked up by the filtering coke. The plates may be supported in the tower in any suitable manner; One way of doing it is to insert their ends in recesses 2'! (Fig. 4) formed in the faces of inc-lined supporting members 28 anchored'to the end-walls of the tower and to the side walls between the end walls. Extending downward from the bottom of each recess is-a slot 29 that snugly receives the lower portion-oft plate 26 to hold it in place. The

central: supports act as partitions which divide each chute into two portions, each of which is fed by one'of the conveyors.

With'car din the bottom of the tower loaded with hot coke and'the chutes full of filtering coke 24, the fans I draw upthrough the tower air laden with the steam and dust given off by the coke being; quenched by' Water from pipes 6. The flow inward through theIoWerpair of chutesections ldwhioh form theprimary filter stage that removes mostof the dust. Most of the steam and the rest of the dust then'fiowoutwardthrough the central pair of chute sections l3; in: which the: steam is condensed: by water which is sprayed down. onto the coke flowing through those sections'from p pes 30 extending lengthwisethrough-thetower. More of the coke, which acts as an excellent. filter. Some of. the steam. also was condensed in flowin through the saturated coke that had moved, downinto' the lowest pair ofinclined sections of the chutes. The dust remaining in; the rising air current is trapped by the filteringcoke in the upper pair of chuteasections H! as the air is drawn inward through them just before it enters the exhaust hoods. This last stage of the filter also takes out most of the water vapor entrained the air by reason ofthe condensation of the=steam. By having a plurality of filter. sections, the overall efii'ciency of the filter in filtering outsolids. is greatly increased. The filtering and condensing accomplished by this apparatus also confines the poisons and acids in the st'eamto the tower.

Much of the water that is sprayed on the filtering coke in the second stage of the filter, as Well as the condensed steam, drain out through the slots in the sides of the chutes before the water and condensate. reach the valve II at the bottom of the chutes. Thiswater and the coke dust that it Washes out of the. chutes with it are: caught by pans 3| extending from the side walls of the tower inward toward the valve. These pans can be connected with a sump (not shown) outside of. the.tower,.into which the dustladen Water is drained for collection. of thedust and're-use of the water.

In order to continually renew the filter bed'sothat. it will not become clogged with coke dust, the filtering coke is released from the bottom of the chutes by opening. valve I1. coke falls onto the. loadof quenched coke below it, so that the used filtering coke and the coke dust mixed with it are not lost. This arrangement also provides a convenient way of dispos in'g'of the used filtering. coke and dust. Although it is' possible to feed the filtering coke continuously through the chutes, it is preferred to move itintermittently through them by. opening. the bottom valve periodically. For example, in one coke quenching installation, gallons of water The released.

per ton of coke are sprayed-on the coke to quench it, and the quenching period is 90 seconds long. The filtering coke is dropped from the chutes onto the quenched coke in a car below it at a rate of /2 to 1 foot of fall per minute for a period of one minute during the middle minute of the 90 second quenching period. The conveyors 22 can be operated continuously or intermittently, just so they keep the chutes full of filtering coke. V

By using as a filter the same kind of'material as that from which the steam and dust rise, the filtering material can be salvaged andmixed with the pay load. This apparatus is relatively simple. yet very efiicient and easy to operate. Its use eliminates a public nuisance thathas been suffered for many years. In addition,-it salvages dust and water that formerly were lost during coke quenching. v 1 v According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have-it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim: I

1. The combination with a coke quenching tower through the lower portion of which cars of coke travel so that the coke therein can be quenched by water, of apparatus for suppressing the steam and dust rising into the tower from the coke being quenched,'said apparatus 'comprising an exhaust fan for drawing said steam and dust up into the tower, a chute extending from thetop of the tower down to a point above the level of said cars, means for delivering filtering coke to the upper end of the chute, means for controlling release of filtering coke from the lower end of the chute, the chute having perforated side walls and a plurality of longitudinal ly spaced sections, means for spraying. water through a perforated side wallof one of' said sections onto the coke therein, and means directing the upward Iflow of steam and dust transversely through each of said sections in succession, whereby said dust will be filtered out by the filtering coke and said steam will be condensed in passing through said one section.

2. The combination with a coke quenching tower through the lower portion of which cars of coke travel so that the coke therein can be quenched by water, of apparatus for suppressing the steam and dust rising into the tower from the coke being quenched, said apparatus comprising an exhaust fan for drawing said steam and dust up into the tower, a chute extending from the top of the tower down to a point above the level of said cars, means for delivering filtering coke to the upper end of the chute at a rate to maintain the chute filled, means for controlling release of filtering coke from the lower end of the chute, the chute having perforated side walls and a plurality of longitudinally spaced sections, means for spraying water through a perforated side wall of a chute section above the lowest section and onto thecoke therein, and means directing the upward flow of steam and dust transversely through each of said sections in succession, whereby said dust will be filtered out by the filtering coke and said steam will be condensed in passing through said one section.

3. The combination with a coke quenching tower through the lower portion of which cars of coke travel so that the coke therein can be quenched by water,of apparatus for suppressing the steam and dust rising into the tower from the coke being quenched, said apparatus comprising an exhaust fanfor drawing said steam and dust up into the tower, a chute extending from the top of the tower down too, point above the level of said cars, means for delivering-filtering coke to the upperend of thechute at a rate to maintain the chute filled, means for controlling release of filtering coke from the lower end of the chute, the chute having perforated side walls and three longitudinally spaced sections, means for spraying water through a perforated side wall of the center section onto the coke therein, and means directing the upward flow of steam and dust transversely through eachof said sections in succession, whereby said dust will be filtered out by the filtering coke and said steam will be condensed in said center section of the chute.

4. The combination with a coke quenching Y tower through the lower portion of which cars.

of coke travel so that the coke therein can be quenched by water, of apparatus for suppressing the steam and dust rising into the tower from thecoke being quenched, said apparatus comprising an exhaust fan for drawing said steam and dust up into the tower, a chute extending from the topof the tower down to a point above the level of said cars, means for delivering filtering coke to the upper end of the chute at a rate to maintain the chute filled, means for controlling release of filtering coke from the lower end of the chute, the chute having perforated side walls and a plurality of longitudinally spaced sections, means for spraying water through a perforated side wall of one of said sections onto the coke therein, means directing the upward fiow of steam and dust transversely through each of said sections in succession, whereby said dust will be filtered out by the filtering coke and said steam will be condensed in passing through said one section, and a drain pan located near the bottom of the chute for catching spray water and condensed steam and conducting .it away. v

5.. The combination with ,a coke quenching tower through the lower portion of which cars of coke travel so that the coke therein can be quenched by water, of apparatus for suppressing the steam and dust rising into vthe tower from the coke being quenched, said apparatus comprising a chute extending diagonally back and forth down between opposite sides of the tower from its top. to apoint above the level of said cars, whereby the chute. has a plurality of inclined sections, means for delivering filtering cokefltothe upper end of the chute at a rate to maintain the chute filled, means for controlling release of filtering coke from the lower end of the chute, the chute having perforated. side walls, an exhaust fan for drawing steam and dust up into the tower and transversely through each of said inclined chute sections in succession, and

means for spraying water down onto a-chutesection above the lowest one to wet the coke" therein to cause condensation therethrough.

6. The combination with a coke quenching tower through the lower portion of which cars of coke travel so that the coke therein can be quenched by water, of apparatus for suppressing the steam and dust rising into the tower from the coke being quenched, said apparatus comof steam passing prising an exhaust fan for drawingsaid steam .and dustup into the tower, a chute extending from the top of the tower down to a point above the level of said cars and having a plurality of longitudinally spaced sections, means for delivering filtering coke to the upper end ofthe chute, means for controlling releaseof filtering coke from the lower end of the chute, the major portion of the chute being formed from pairs of laterally spacedplates extending lengthwise of the tower with the upper portions of each pair spaced apart farther than their lower porof coke travel so that the coke therein can'be quenched by water, of apparatus for suppressing the steam and dust rising into the tower from the coke being quenched, said apparatus comprising a chute extending diagonally back and forth down between opposite sides of the tower from its top to a point above thelevel of said cars, whereby the chute has a plurality of inclined sections, a second chute shaped substantially the same as the first-mentioned chute but having its inclined sections inclined in directions opposite to the inclined sections of the first chute, the inclined sections of each chute extending from the adjoining side wall of, the tower to the other chute at about the center of the tower, the lower ends of the chutes coming together, means for delivering filtering coke to the upper ends of the chutes at a rate to maintain them filled, means for controlling release of filtering coke from the lower ends of the chutes, the chutes having perforated side walls, and an exhaust, fan for drawing'steam anddust up into-the tower and transversely through each pair of opposed chute sections in succession.

8. The combination with a coke quenching tower through the lower portion of whichcars of coke travel so that the coke therein can be quenched by water, of apparatus for suppressing the steam and dust rising into the tower from the coke being quenched, said apparatus'comprising a pair of chutes converging. downward from the opposite sides of the tower near its top to a meeting point at the center of the tower and then diverging downward to the sides of the tower and then converging downward again to a meeting point at the center of the tower above the level of said cars, the lower ends of the chutes extending downward a short distance from said last-mentioned point, a valve normally closing the lower'en'ds of the chutes, means for delivering filtering coke to the upper ends of the chutes to maintain them filled, the chutes having perforated side walls, an exhaust fan for drawing steam and dust up into the tower and transversely through the inclined portions 7 of the chutes in succession, and means for sprayof coke travel so that the coke therein can be quenched by water, of apparatus for suppressing the steam and dust rising into the tower from the coke being quenched, said apparatus comprising a pair of chutes converging downward from the opposite sides of the tower near its top to a meeting point at the center of the tower and then diverging downward to the sides of the tower and then converging downward again to a meeting point at the center of the tower above the level of said cars, the lower ends of the chutes extending downward a short distance from said last-mentioned point, a valve normally closing the lower ends of the chutes, means for delivering filtering coke to the upper ends of the chutes to maintain them filled, the chutes having perforated side walls, an exhaust fan for drawing steam and dust up into the tower and transversely through the inclined portions of the chutes in succession, means for spraying water on the coke in said diverging sections of the chutes, and drain pans below the lower converging sections of the chutes for catching water and condensed steam.

10. The method of suppressing steam and dust rising from a mass of coke being quenched, comprising conducting the steam and dust transversely through longitudinally spaced sections of a curtain of filtering coke in succession to filter out the dust, spraying water on one of said sections to condense the steam, withdrawing coke from one end of the curtain, and adding coke to the opposite end of the curtain.

11. The method of suppressing steam'and dust rising from a mass of coke being quenched, comprising drawing the steam and dust transversely through vertically spaced sections of a curtain of filtering coke in succession to filter out the dust, spraying water on the curtain section next to the one closest to the source of said steam and dust, whereby to condense steam in the sprayed section, withdrawing coke from the lower end of the curtain, and adding coke to the upper end of the curtain.

12. The method of suppressingsteam and dust REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: Q

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name I Date 1,798,307 Cooper r Mar. 31,1931 1,995,292 Clark Mar. 26, 1935 2,202,258' Lynch May 28, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number v Country Date Great Britain Oct. .18, 1917' 

